Samsung Electronics Reportedly Slashes Foundry Investments in Half

[T0@st]

Reports from last November suggested that Samsung Electronics had semi-abandoned its second-generation 3 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process, due to missed production goals. Disappointing production yields—as low as 20%—have been floated by industry insiders, they believed (at the time) that the South Korean's foundry teams had simply moved onto developing a next-gen 2 nm manufacturing process. A freshly published news article, courtesy of Business Korea, provides further evidence of a shift to 2 nanometer processes—Samsung's S3 plant in Hwaseong is reportedly in the process of being upgraded (from 3 nm GAA). Insiders believe that new equipment will be installed across the existing production line, requiring a small-scale investment of funds.

The Pyeongtaek 2 (P2) plant is supposedly being prepared for a 1.4 nm test line—targeting a manufacturing capacity of 2000 to 3000 wafers per month. Inside track information suggests that trials will begin within the year. Business Korea's report suggests that Samsung has halved its foundry facility investment budget for 2025—around 5 trillion won, instead of last year's 10 trillion won. The article puts a spotlight on alleged "sluggish customer orders"—the primary factor behind Samsung's decision to slash its chip-making budget by 50%. Competition is fierce at this point in time—TSMC leads the way with its cutting-edge technologies. Taiwan's premier foundry has attracted many high-profile clients away from rival manufacturers. In contrast, industry watchdogs believe that Samsung's struggles have caused "big tech" customers to seek alternate channels.



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[john_]

I guess they will try to hit good yields first, expand to meet possible customer demand latter, if they achieve those good yields.

 

[kondamin]

they have a massive productlineup, give those products decent soc's and internally use the capacity

 

[bonehead123]

"Ya gotta spend-a-money if ya wanna make-a-money"

 

[Verpal]

Samsung entire conglomerate is running into trouble these few years, it is not surprising troublesome business get slashed first.

Honestly, South Korea as a whole is not in a great position right now, and it goes beyond current political turmoil.

 

[bgx]

samsung foundry is dead then.

They are not going to solve their problem by investing half of money into it.

I Think Intel had the better approach of putting a lot of ressources into their production line. Of course, it hurt short term, with the abysmal results 6 months ago. But this is the only way long term to keep a strong production line.
Time will tell how intel A18 is, but it s not as bad as Korean press said.

 

[Readlight]

Probably Samsung is feeding south Korean declining population in their main city.

 

[Fishymachine]

So chip fabrication is now exclusive to TSMC ... great

 

[Tomorrow]

But, but i though Qualcomm and Nvidia for sure were gonna use Samsung's 2nm for their future chips. /s

Im sarcastic because i've seen this rumor perpetuated for many years. It always seems to surface every few months. Only the process node number changes.
In the end it never materializes because Samsung does not have the yields and capacity to compete with TSMC.

 

[sudothelinuxwizard]

Samsung has been lagging for many years at this point. Remember back in 2020 where they tried to sell "5LPE" which was more comparable to TSMC N7P? Frankly this is noticeable across their entire lineup; for example there has been zero innovation since 2020 with their phones as well. They have lost their way.